A few 1Ds3 ISO 1600 shots

Those shots were posted on DPR forums, CLICK to go directly to the thread. It's a shame the poster didn't post 100% crops, which would really show "the real picture".

1Ds mkIII also on Amazon

Check it out click.

A bunch of news

I've found this intriguing post on northlight images. I'll keep it short and get straight to the point:

* 40D - it's ready, but they did have a 40D ready in Feb/March, but it was regarded as just a bit to similar to everything else. It seems that Canon have put a lot into the 'new' 40D to get back market leadership in this segment from Nikon.
* Features include: 14 bit processing, highlight preservation, multiple custom functions, faster, half the noise level of the 30D, more weatherproofing. Lots of 'trickle down' features from their pro models.
* Their marketing campaign is really going to emphasise the semi-pro angle and the marketing will emphasise the 'pro' heritage.
*
* 1Ds3 - it's ready and production of the 1Ds2 has stopped. To be announced fairly soon. Several studios in New York now have production versions (under strict NDA ;-) and it is supposed to be 'just amazing'
*
* 5D replacement - Now 'feature complete'. Canon is working on the timing, most likely early 2008 [PMA is Jan 31 to Feb 2] Features include 16MP, Digic III and 14 bit.
*
* 400D replacement - March 2008. 14 bit, Digic III, highlight preservation. IS lens as standard.
*
* Sensor technology - Canon have mentioned that full frame sensor chips need two stepper passes. Sony now has the technology to do this in one pass and are preparing their own sensors and selling to them Nikon. However, Canon have a new 'one pass' technology too. What's more, it can do even larger than 35mm (36x24mm) in a single pass.
* Canon are very excited about a next generation CMOS sensors they are working on. Two full frame versions have 40M and 50M pixels at the -same- noise level as the current 1D series. Low power supply voltages give cooler chips and lower noise even with smaller pixels. Different circuit fabrication techniques also promise to make close to 100% of the sensor area active pixels. This technology won't make any of the upcoming models, but is expected in 2009/10.
*
* The competition - Canon were somewhat shocked by the success of the Nikon D80, D40 and D40X. Hence the 'improved' 40D and the improved 400D replacement in the works. Canon know what Nikon have coming (D300 and D3) and have planned the 40D, 1Ds III and 1D III as their answers.
* However Nikon are moving to CMOS sensors to over the next couple of years. Sony are moving CMOS to a near full frame (1.25 or so) and full (35mm) FF, so Canon are getting serious and starting to plan some aggressive upgrades.
* Sony worries Canon somewhat, since with their manufacturing capabilities, they could move the whole price base down for SLRs. So far they haven’t and their lens prices and range are not a worry for Canon. The current Sony Alpha has been less than astounding in the market.
* Moreover, Nikon have the camera credibility and certainly won’t stop with the D3 and D300. Their plans for the lower end (D40-D80 as well) are to replace them in much shorter timeframes than their previous 3-4 years. Nikon have moved emphasis from the low end 'point and shoot' digital into R&D on the DLSRs. They've found this to be 3-4 times as profitable (note Nikon's record profits over last 12 months). Nikon are more than happy with trouncing Canon for the last 12 months in Japan (not so world wide). So the next 2-3 years will see a major DSLR feature 'war'.
*
* IS Technology - This is being introduced in some of their consumer grade lenses. The technology has matured to the point that it can be added at only a small price premium. It gives product differentiation - a reaction to Sony and keeps them ahead of Nikon.
*
* Digic IV - Digic III just won't cut it for the new high density sensors. Digic IV can deal with with the transfer rates for higher bit per pixel images. One Digic IV chip beats the two Digic III in the 1D3.
*
* 16 bit RAW - Canon's target for their next generation of sensors is 16 bits per channel giving true HD quality. They are also looking at processing formats to retain that extra definition.
*
* ISO sensitivity - Canon see their next generation lower voltage CMOS as easily doing ISO6400, with a boost to 12800.

1Ds mkIII photo?

I've found the photo below on the digicombo site. Pretty funny stuff, it's above the 1D mkIII specs. I really don't know what they are thinking. But one thing is for sure. They're going to get a lot of visitors and it's a huge promotion for them as well. As most of you probably know, there is no bad promotion...

1Ds mkIII in october, priced at $13k (AUS)

I've come across this rumour on POTN. If that will be the price tag, then I guess Nikon will sell a lot more of their D3's (rumors are that it'll priced around $8k (US)). And people were complainig 8k is too much...

Here's the quote:

I was chatting to Sam at D & D Photographics (Sydney Australia) and he mentioned they are taking pre-orders for the 1Ds III.

He said it will be announced in October sometime, 22MP and around $13k (Aus).

1Ds mkIII and13-52 f1.8

A qouote of one of the most unusual info that I found on FM forums:

One of the oldest Canon dealers in Mexico City hosted a Canon Day yesterday, I had a chance to spend quite a bit of time with a Technical guy and he indicated that -even though he couldn't confirm anything- the 1Ds Mk III was scheduled for an October 1st release and the prototype with the best chance of making it to production had a 22 MP sensor. He was not a sales rep, so I think there's a good chance he could be right.

I also saw, with my own eyes, a 13-52 mm f/1.8 Canon lens. Unfortunately it was not an EOS mount, but some sort of weird Video Capture camera that had a CCD sensor.

Canon 1Ds mkIII waiting list

Someone claims to be on the waiting list for 1Ds mkIII. I've came across the info about the 1Ds3 launch at Berlin’s IFA show, that is taking place 31.8.07-5.9.07. The launch date is supposed to be 31.8.07.

1Ds mkIII speculations

I found this interesting post on FM foums:

Canon were testing a FF sensor last year with the same 6.4 x 6.4 pixel pitch as the 30D but with larger photodiodes and better pixel lenses. Compared to the current 1Ds II’s 7.2 x 7.2 sensors this gave a pixel density increase of 1.266 giving a sensor size of 21.8mp with an effective size of 21mp. This sensor also had a built in 1.25 crop mode, giving a 16.7mp 1D IIn equivalent picture. The sensor (with dual DIGIC III etc) could do 5 FPS at FF and 8 FPS in crop mode…. The photodiodes were approximately the same size as those in the 1Ds II’s 7.2 x 7.2 pixels and with the next generation noise reduction etc this sensor delivered 3200 ISO native and 6400 with High mode enabled…

And (surprise ) they were also testing a FF 16.6mp sensor with the 7.2 x 7.2 pixel size, new micro lenses and close to 5D sized photodiodes (presumably for the new high end 5D replacement). What is interesting is if you reverse the maths, for the 1.255 crop this gives you exactly the 1d III sensor when cut down from FF…. Which makes a lot of sense

Now what remains to be seen is what they release… But if I were a betting man it will be dam close to the above (ie IDs III with 21mp and the 3D or 5D Mark II with 16.7mp)

Oh and BTW the testers LOVED the image quality on both cameras…
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And another interesting post, that was posted in the same thread. I totally agree with the poster, he described the FF camera I wanted Canon to announce for quite a long time. The benefit of only 8 mpix FF camera would be higher dynamic range and lower noise (because the pixels would be much larger, almost twice the size as those on 1Ds mkII), files would be smaller, so you wouldn't need large capacity memory cards and hard disks. And most of us don't even need more than 8 mpix (it's enough for up to A3 print, so it's usually more than enough for commercial photography as well). Anyway, here's the post:

I think a lot of beginners would jump for the FF 8 mp chip, that would be a great camera. Most of them don't need anything more than 5 fps or the rugged frame of the 1 series. Canon would sell tons, heck, it would be a great camera to take to the park.

Another 1Ds mkIII rumour

I found this rumour on the Online photograper site:

The new Canon 1Ds Mk. III is a very interesting camera. Although it has a considerably slower frame-rate and a considerably smaller (effective) buffer than the new 1D Mk. III, its full-frame, 22-MP CMOS sensor is state of the art for image quality in a DSLR-type camera, making its $5,800 pricetag seem like a runaway bargain. It is only 30% heavier and not much larger than the 5D—far smaller than the 1D Mk. III. The sensor has better high-ISO performance than any previous DSLR, using a completely new and unique technical strategy, and very good dynamic range. Finally, the new camera has outstanding low-light AF capability.

Canon 1 Ds mkIII photo

Here's a photo of what's supposed to be the 1Ds mkIII. In my opinion it's 99% fake, I think the body should really be updated and I'm sure they'd mount the top of the line 50 mm lens on it (Canon 50 1.2L).

Predictions, predictions...

Today FM has a lot of interesting rumours. This is another one, that I've found:


1) Canon will release the successor of the 1D Mk IIn as a 16 MPix full frame frame camera, able to crop by factor of 1.3 to perform 10 fps resulting in 10 mp files. The camera is able, due to its internal buffer and in conjunction with high speed memory cards, to shoot an unlimited number of pictures in high speed mode (only limited by the size of the used memory cards).?The pricing should be around 4.500€.


2) Canon will also introduce a new „Medium Format“ EOS system, that will be compatible with current EF mount in a sort of crop mode and uses a new line of lenses to leverage the bigger sensor. The successor of the 1Ds MK II is intended to build the starting point of this new production line for Canon and the sensor will have at least 22 mp.
The rumor goes that this beast will ship around 13 T€.



With this move Canon solves several issues and therefore this prediction makes sense to me:

1) Canon want to go „Full Frame“ with 1D series, so the native crop of the 1D has to go away.

2) Due to pricing issues its not possible the merge the 1D and 1Ds line into one. For sport shooters and journalists there‘s no need for 20+ mp, and some are already shooting digital for years. So their lens park is collected on the fact having 1.3 crop. Therefore the „dynamic crop“ of the 1D MK III will support a smooth migration path for them.

3) The current 1Ds Mk II challenges the existing EF lenses and it attacks the low end of the medium format market (studio, landscape, ...) already. So to extend the ship size to enter the „cropped medium format digital backs“ while introducing new high quality lenses makes perfect sense to me.

Latest rumours

I found this latest prediction on Canon PMA announcements on FM. I'm not sure about 800 f5.6 DO, since the photo floating on the web two weeks ago was a fake, but the rest of the stuff is more likely to be announced, at least when in comes to the 2 cameras mentioned below:


40D=10Mp, anti dust, new display, 5fps, 9+2 AF points pricing: 100-1600+H, EF-S,x 1.6, SD, new viewfinder, DIGICIII, option: Wifi grip

1DsmkIII= 22mp, 2,5"lcd, PS, 45AF, DIGICIII, 100-3200+H+L, 1.0, 4fps, high speed crop mode 8,5fps

12-24EF

17-135EF-S IS

800/5.6 IS DO

Pixma ip6xxx: wireless pictbridge,

Selphy ipES miniprinter wireless pictbridge,

Powershot A740 IS wireless 10Mp DIGICIII, 6x zoom, WiFi.

IXUSi10 zoom 10Mp lifestyle, IXUS 70 edition,

DC50 DVD camcorder

How many FF cameras will Canon announce?

This is also one of the hottest topics on the forums. Will it stay at 2 FF cameras, move up to 3 (with Canon 1D mkIII), or even plan to have (in the future, not right after PMA) all its DSLR's FF (save from the cheapest).

5D Mk II: 12 Mpixel entry level full frame
1D Mk III: 12 Mpixel 8-10 fps full frame sports shooter in pro body
1Ds Mk III: 22 Mpixel 4 fps full frame studio / reportage shooter in pro body

3 full frame cameras, without internal conflict or competition, 3 separated markets.

Lets not forget: If Canon ups the high ISO performance of 5D-sized photo sites, which seems likely since the pixel pitch would stay the same, yet process enhancements would lower the noise floor, then every sports shooter can simply take a 1.4x extender and up the ISO a notch, if they want more reach.

Smaller series 1 predictions

Here's an interesting prediction regarding Canon 1D and 1Ds mkIII I found on FM:

Ok, after no real rumours for some time I am going to make my predictions for the 1 Series for 2007.

A new 1D series camera will be announced for PMA. It will have a size similar to the 1V, and will be 8.5 fps with a full frame 12.8MP sensor. ISO will now be 100-3200 (extendable to 50 and 6400). There will be a refinement of the 45 focus point system, with more cross sensors.

There will be multiple grips available for the camera, including a WiFi grip, and a basic grip that simply adds battery capacity.

There will be a customiseable button that can be set to MLU.

The camera will be very water-resistant and will have a shutter rated for 200,000 cycles.

Price will be approx US$4500, dropping to under $4,000 within 12 months.

Approximately 3 months later the new 1Ds will be announced. It will be effectively the same camera, but with a 22MP sensor, and a maximum frame rate of 5fps. Price will be $7500, dropping to $7,000 within 12 months

Neither camera will feature internal storage. Neither camera will feature a larger than 24mm x 36mm sensor. There will be no further 1.3x cameras.

Canon will also issue a 40D at PMA - not prepared to speculate re. that.

OK, now this is all speculation, but I reckon it is very close to what is going to happen this year.



And reply to that post. It looks like public opininon is split, when it comes to 1,3x crop. Half of them think it's dead and want a FF with a crop mode (like Nikon D2X), the other half want to stick with the 1,3x crop. Anyway, here's the reply:

Well since we are speculating, The 1Dsmk2 is long(er) over due for updating, if any logic can be applied for this 30 month update cycle.

My next guess, would be a refrined 16MP imager will be used in the next re-vision to the 1Dmk2N, coupled to the processing power of the DIGIC-III; This will also provide more room for the 5D development.

ALSO, the 1.3 imager is OVER; that was a temporary step, until FF imagers could be fabricated at necessary cost levels, and the processing power of the DICIG engine could handle the massive amount of image information, for over 8fps peformance levels.

Why the "delay" of 1Ds mkIII

I've found this on FM, could be the reasons for "delaying"(there really is no timeframe for 1Ds mkIII) the announcement of Canon 1Ds mkIII:

We do know the elements of what CAnon are working on to put in future cameras.
What we don't have the info on is which are ready, but we can perhaps make some estimates - or guesses!
1.OLED -Canon said sometime in 2007. likely this will come in, but will not make much difference in likely early applications - just reduces power drain from the present LCD as technology 2 is unlikely to be ready
2.EVF instead of OVF - a decent screen for this at the moment costs $20,000 - it seems doubtful Canon have cracked this - perhaps in five years - potentially revolutionary.
3.Better batteries - AFAIK they have only just figured out how to make Lion batteries which are likely to meet Canon's specs for pro use - good shelf life, temperature operating range and so on:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18054/page1/
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17653&ch=energy
This would really make a major difference to cameras - it would mean that tehy could re-package the 1 series into something much more compact if they want to.
Unless Canon have stolen a March on everyone else it could be a year until such batteries are ready - but actually, if Canon wanted to, they are under no pressure at all to bring out the new 1 series - they dominate the market with both the 1DsII and the 1DII
Fuel cells, micro-turbines and so on are still likely a long ways off.
4. Foveon-like sensor - last I heard it was not being thought of for this iteration, but could explain waiting instead of releasing a 1 series last fall.
5. Better AF and so on - a no-brainer

The really urgent one for replacement would seem to me to be the 30D, which is not selling well against the Nikons

1Ds mkIII rumors

I've found this on the northlight site, especially interesting stuff regarding Canon 1Ds mkIII:

From Austria, 30D price cuts ... and 1Ds3 info from Germany at http://www.dslr-forum.de/showpost.php?p=1568883&postcount=14

A rough translation (thanks)
"The 22 MP [of the MkIII] include the pixels not used for the actual picture. The effective number of pixels of the 1Ds Mark III is 20,67MP. The 40d has an effective pixelcount of 10,32 MP, that means a little more than the 400D."

Is this the TrueColor, mentioned a while back (9th Jan)?

A comment on the FM rumour thread adds more to this - not your usual pixels...
"...the 1 series is switchable between 2/3 and 3/4 with supported lenses. (Will not shoot 3/4 with unrecognized lenses unless disabled in custom function). Both formats make a 20mp file. The sensor has 22mp. Some lenses work fine. Some with internal baffling don't work at 3/4. Some are borderline, but will not be recognized as 3/4 capable. Canon didn't tell the non-Canon test shooters that it has full color pixels."
and "They're special because each pixel is full color - even the 40D"

From Japan a Mk3 rumour: http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/00500210737/#5962591

According to a comment I received from Japan (thanks), the original post suggests:
"1Ds Mark II successor would be released as having the dust reduction, 22MP sensor, and, larger LCD. The price is around 900,000 yen that is almost the same price as the 1Ds Mark II from his friend that is a professional camera man. The release timing is May. "

Some more info from Australia (thanks) suggesting that Canon might be offloading stock? Ted's Camera stores are offering a A$750 rebate on the 1Dmk2n ending on the 28th of February. Good to see they've added the 1Ds mk2 to their line up... "New" ;-)

Superbowl came ... and went without any announcement, so it's all eyes on the run up to PMA which opens on Thursday 8th of March, although 'Press Day' is on the 7th. Current Press Releases are listed at the PMA 2007 site.

Keep an eye on all your favourite forums for threads based on the 'I saw someone in the press corps at Superbowl using a one series camera with a 3" lcd'...

As well as built in WiFi for the new camera, several people are asking about GPS? I actually used my old hand held GPS the other day taking some photos in various muddy fields for a civil engineering company for a new road scheme - one of the few times I've had a genuine use for it in three years of using my 1Ds. Not to say it wouldn't be of use to some, but I can think of far more advances I'd like to see in a new One series before built-in GPS :-)

Another long term wish list component that regularly surfaces is the use of a Pellicle mirror, such as was in the EOS-1N RS. Without the need for the mirror to flip up and down the camera is faster and quieter - not a feature I'd expect soon, although Olympus have had the 'liveview' system for the E-330 for a while.